For postgraduate students successfully completing their taught programmes this autumn, we aim to hand out parchments on the day of the Congregation ceremony (you will need to bring some photographic ID in order to collect yours). For undergraduate students and postgraduate research students successfully completing their programmes this autumn, we will post parchments to home addresses until the end of October 2012, and thereafter parchments will be available to collect on the day of the ceremony.
The majority of parchments should be available for candidates to collect at any time during the Congregation period (4-6 December 2012). This applies whether or not you have opted to attend your ceremony. We cannot guarantee to have every parchment ready but in the majority of cases we will have them. You can collect in person or ask another person to collect for you. In order for another person to collect your parchment, they must bring the following:
Parchments not collected will be posted to home addresses after the Congregation ceremonies are over. Please remember to keep the University informed of any change to your home address. You can update your address yourself on the S3P Portal.
We sometimes have problems with parchments reaching overseas destinations, particularly China. If your native language does not use the Latin alphabet (the alphabet used in English and most European languages), we ask you to provide a postal address in the characters of your own language. You can enter this in the Graduation Form, which you will have access to as a result of receiving the email inviting you to the Congregation ceremony (the email which the majority of candidates will receive on 14 September 2012).
Students who finish their programme at a non-standard time (i.e. not June/July or September-December) will have their parchment posted to their home address up to 6 weeks after their pass list has been issued (unless they have debts to the University).
Your name will be displayed on your parchment exactly as it appears in the University records (with your surname in capital letters), so it is important that your University record is accurate (if unsure, please check at your School Office or your Graduate School). Please note that you cannot change the format or spelling of your name on S3P – you must do this in person at your School/Graduate School Office, providing some proof, such as your passport or birth certificate. You should ensure that your name has the correct spelling and that all legal names (including any middle names) are recorded. Please note that initials are not acceptable and will be omitted from your parchment unless you inform the Congregations Office and provide proof, such as your birth certificate or other legal documentation, that the initial is part of your name.
If you have received your parchment and there was a mistake on it, please return it to the Congregations Office either by post or in person, with a covering note explaining what the mistake is, and we will issue you with a replacement as soon as we can.
We send parchments by first class mail (inland) and by Airmail (overseas).
In order to receive your parchment, you must have cleared all your financial obligations to the University.
Please also note that current students can access other documentation (such as transcripts of study) by logging on to the S3P Portal or by asking your School/Graduate Office until the end of the Academic Year of Graduation.
*Please note that "parchment" is the official word which the University uses to mean your certificate.